


A Bad Influence

by HeartOfStars



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: Rebellion Era - All Media Types
Genre: Bounty Hunters, Canon Compliant, Gen, Not Solo: A Star Wars Story Compliant, Ord Mantell, Poisoning, Post-ANH, Pre-ESB, Sort Of, Star Wars Secret Santa, secret santa fic exchange
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-30
Updated: 2020-01-15
Packaged: 2021-02-27 14:55:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 14,965
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22028923
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HeartOfStars/pseuds/HeartOfStars
Summary: The famous mission to Ord Mantell, partially canon-compliant. When Luke, Leia, and Han crash-land in the hopes of repairing Han's ship, they don't expect the Empire to find them so quickly...
Relationships: Leia Organa & Han Solo, Leia Organa & Luke Skywalker, Leia Organa & Luke Skywalker & Han Solo, Luke Skywalker & Darth Vader, Luke Skywalker & Han Solo
Comments: 55
Kudos: 239
Collections: 2019 Star Wars Secret Santa





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

  * For [I_Am_Peevies](https://archiveofourown.org/users/I_Am_Peevies/gifts).



> Taking a brief break from Family Finds A Way! This was written for the Star Wars Secret Santa 2019, but partly also something I've been wanting to write for a long time, a short adventure in the vein of the original Star Wars, goofy dialogue and all.  
> It will be posted in four parts. Enjoy!

“Well, this is a real mess.”

Luke Skywalker and Han Solo stood in front of the damaged _Millennium Falcon,_ both looking thoroughly discouraged. Han had barely managed to land the ship before something had given out completely; they still weren’t entirely sure what it was, but one thing was for sure: they’d crashed in the middle of an empty field on Ord Mantell, and they were lightyears away from the nearest Rebel outpost. 

In other words, they were deep in enemy territory. 

“A real mess,” Han echoed with a touch of sarcasm, and more than a dash of mockery. “You say that like you didn’t get us into it.”

“ _Me?”_ Luke repeated incredulously. “Look, if you wanted to keep your precious ship safe, you could’ve come with us to Jornallen instead of showing up at the last minute to get us out of there, like you always do!”

“And we could all still leave the Rebellion and avoid those missions altogether, kid, that’s an option too--”

They were interrupted by a shriek from the _Falcon._

“Leia!” Luke called, running toward the ship. “Leia, get out of there, it’s not safe!”

Han was less sympathetic. “Yeah, stop messing around! If you die blowing up _my ship,_ Your Worship, I’m going to kill you!”

A second later, Leia Organa emerged, her face covered in dust but looking ultimately triumphant. In her right hand she held a linear converter; and behind her came R2-D2, whistling cheerfully. .

“While you boys were busy arguing, I figured out how to remove _this_ before it failed altogether and blew up that piece of junk.” Leia tossed the converter to Luke, who was so surprised he barely managed to catch it, and gave Han a sarcastic smile. “You’re welcome.”

“I could’ve helped you, y’know,” Luke said, hurrying to catch up with her as she marched away. “I had to mess with converters all the time back on Tatooine--where are you going, anyway?”

“We need a new linear converter, obviously,” Leia said. Han, who still looked in shock, finally caught up with the both of them. “So we’ll have to get one.” 

“And how, exactly, do you know that?” Han demanded. “It’s not as if you’ve had much experience with mechanics, Your _Highness.”_

“Oh, it wasn’t just me,” Leia said coolly. “Unlike you, I don’t have a head so swollen it barely fits on my shoulders. I got Artoo to help me; he’s waiting with Chewie now.”

That made Luke feel slightly better. 

“He certainly knows his ships,” he said. “So there are no other issues?”

“For now, no,” Leia said. 

“But without that linear converter we’ll never get off the ground,” Han said. “You’re right, we need to get a new one; but we’ve picked just about the worst place to do it. Not only is this Imperial territory, it’s crawling with smugglers and mercenaries who’ll do just about anything to get a reward.”

“Oh, so you should fit right in,” Leia said. 

“Maybe that’ll work in our favor,” Luke said. “Han, did you ever come here before joining the Rebellion?”

“Who said I joined the Rebellion?”

Leia removed her vest for the sheer purpose of whacking Han with it. 

“You know what I mean,” Luke said, exasperated. “Did you--”

“Yes, of course I did,” Han interrupted, sounding irritated. “I know this place like the back of my hand, but that was before--”

Luke raised a hand; he didn’t know where it was coming from, but there was a sudden, extreme sense of danger that he’d sensed before. More specifically, that he’d sensed every single time they ran into some kind of Imperial forces. He closed his eyes. 

Leia glanced at him. “Luke, what is it?”

“Oh, great.” Han rolled his eyes. “The Force is tingling again, huh?”

Both Luke and Leia ignored him. 

“The Empire,” Luke said grimly. “They’re here. Let’s continue this someplace quieter.”

Luke and Leia walked forward, Han trailing behind them. 

“What do you mean, ‘someplace quieter?’” he muttered. “This is Ord Mantell.”

  
  
  


Several miles behind them, a small ship had docked. The ship contained only two individuals, but they were more deadly than a whole platoon of Stormtroopers. The pilot was a humanoid male called Skorr, famous for his use of toxins; and standing behind him was a Rybet, his companion Grundi. Grundi was almost worse--he was more likely to bring in a target dead.

They were legendary bounty hunters, and they were in the employ of Jabba the Hutt.

“It’s Solo,” said Grundi at last, peering through a pair of high-tech binoculars. “Has to be. And some woman is with him.”

“You sure?” Skorr turned to scowl at him. “Last time you thought it was Solo, we ended up half-dead in a ditch.”

“I’m sure,” Grundi snapped. “Because that’s his ship right there, the _Falcon._ And he walks like Solo, all cocky and self-important.” He snickered. “We’ll see how cocky he is when he finds himself in Jabba’s palace on a stick.”

“But that Wookiee,” Skorr protested. “He’s always got that Wookiee with him, remember? Where’s he?”

Gribbet lowered the binoculars. “You don’t seriously think he’d leave that ship unguarded, do you? He loves that old thing more than most people--can’t see why, but he does. The Wookiee’s got to be in there.”

“So what do you say? We scope out the ship, take the Wookiee? Surprise Solo when he gets back?” Skorr snorted. “Sounds too easy.”

Grundi had raised the binoculars again, peering forward. “That’s because…” Yes, it was Solo all right; he’d recognize that swagger anywhere. The young woman with him was much shorter, but she walked like she was royalty, and...wait a minute. Who was that youth next to them? The boy, with sun-bleached blond hair and a very peculiar-looking weapon hanging at his belt?

It looked like...like...no. That wasn't possible.

But he was seeing it.

Frantically, Grundi threw down the binoculars and pulled up the holo he’d been given. Yes. Yes, it matched exactly!

“Because? Because what?” Skorr demanded. “Come on, you lug! Don’t stand there with your teeth in your mouth!”

“It’s too easy because that’s Skywalker,” he said. “That’s the Rebel who destroyed the Death Star--”

A hungry grin slid across Skorr’s face. “The Rebel with a billion credits to his name.”

“We need a new plan,” Grundi said. 

“I’ll get us closer,” Skorr said. “In the meantime, you find the code on that bounty; should belong to Darth Vader.”

“Vader?” An expression of fear crossed Grundi’s face, but that was to be expected. “We don’t want his attention on us!”

“Of course not,” Skorr said slyly, “but he’s got a _separate_ bounty on Skywalker.” He grinned. “ _Two_ billion credits, alive...at least, for the most part.”


	2. Chapter Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Han tries to find them a safe place to get new parts, which is harder than it looks; Vader makes an appearance.   
> AKA: In which Luke and Leia are literally Andy Dwyer and April Ludgate from Parks & Rec.

Han Solo remembered the last time he’d come to Ord Mantell. He had been twenty-five, in his early days as a smuggler, and so far the world hadn’t become an awful place for him. He’d only carried off a few heists; he didn’t have the  _ Falcon  _ yet; he hadn’t even met Lando. (Now that was someone he hoped Luke and Leia never met, for a few important reasons.) And best of all, he hadn’t been famous for smuggling yet, so only a few lowly Imperials were after his head instead of, well, half the galaxy. 

No, he’d just been a kid out for an adventure and a living, and when he was taking a break Ord Mantell was the place to be. It was a filthy den of thieves, smugglers, and murderers, and some of the nights he’d spent there had been the best of his entire life. 

He had loved Ord Mantell. 

Now, he hated it. 

He couldn’t have explained why if someone asked him. If it had been anyone but the kid, who was either really good at guessing or else actually had the Force(and he was going with the first option no matter how wrong he was), he would’ve pretended that he’d never heard the question. But he hated the planet now; hated how everyone seemed to be staring at them, hated everyone’s shifty appearances...and  _ he  _ didn’t even know why. 

At least, he didn’t want to think about it. 

And Luke and Leia had been glancing his way too many times. 

He’d just started ignoring them. They were in the main city now, and he was on the lookout for the most worn-down cantina in sight; the worse it looked, the better, because the inhabitants would be more likely to just give them what they were looking for. 

“Not that one,” he muttered under his breath, trying to ignore the way Leia’s big brown eyes seemed to be boring into his back...beautiful eyes, if only they weren’t so damn terrifying. “Too clean, everyone’s gonna know--”

“Hey, Han,” said Luke from Han’s left. Great, just great. Had to be the kid, didn’t it; not the Princess, who always made assumptions way above her head…

Han grunted, barely acknowledging Luke. “Yeah, kid?”

“I thought you were a smuggler,” Luke said. “You of all people shouldn’t be looking so...I dunno, so nervous about being here.”

Great. Straight to the point. Not to mention the fact that he’d just been called a  _ coward.  _

Han whipped his head around to glare. “Who said I was nervous?”

“I don’t know if it’s  _ obvious,”  _ Luke said, scratching the back of his head. “I can just...tell. You know--”

Han rolled his eyes. “Not the Force again.”

“What do you mean it’s not obvious?” Leia demanded, and now Han wanted to strangle both of them. “Ever since we got into the city, he’s been looking over his shoulder every two minutes, he’s got a constant hand on his blaster as if we can’t take care of ourselves--”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Your Worship,” Han snapped, taking his hand off his blaster. 

“Oh, right,” Luke said, “and about a mile back he kept looking at that Twilek--”

“Han Solo!”

Han had never felt so relieved to see an old friend in his entire life. Standing in an alley, waving at him, was a Mirialan he thought he’d never see again. 

“He’s a friend,” he said so only Luke and Leia could hear him. “He can help us.”

“And you knew he was here the whole time, did you?” Leia muttered. 

Ignoring her, Han strode forward, embracing his friend. “Norik D’van! I thought you’d be hanging on Jabba’s wall by now, but you’re full of surprises.”

“So are you, Solo,” D’van laughed. “Last I heard, half the galaxy was after you!”

“More than half now,” Han said with a grin, “but I’m not dead yet.”

D’van looked past him to where Luke and Leia were standing, with very different looks on their faces. Luke was grinning like Han--that kid didn’t even need an excuse to make friends, did he--and Leia was standing behind him, her arms crossed over her chest and scowling at the newcomer. 

“And who are these two?” D’van asked. “New friends?”

“Something like that,” Han said, deciding it would be better to introduce Luke first. He gestured the kid forward, and Luke stepped up eagerly to shake D'van's hand. 

“A friend of Han’s is a friend of ours,” Luke said with a smile, while Leia let out a snort of disbelief. “Pleased to meet you.”

“Norik D’van,” said the Mirialan. “And you are…?”

“Luke...” There was a slight hesitation that made Han wish he’d done the introduction, and then the kid figured it out. “Luke Lars.”

“Lars, huh?” D’van stroked his chin thoughtfully. “I’ve heard that somewhere.” Fortunately, he didn’t pursue the thought, but looked past Luke to Leia. “And who’s this gorgeous work of art?”

Fire blazed in Leia’s eyes. Han put a hand on her arm, trying to hold back the inevitable outburst, but she shook it off. 

“I’m not a work of  _ art,  _ you half-assed piece of kriffing lard,” she snapped. “My name is Leia, and I am  _ not  _ going to be another one-night stand for you. _You_ might be a smuggler, but I could put a blaster bolt through your neck before you even opened your mouth!”

Han couldn’t believe his ears. Neither, it seemed, could D’van. 

“Leia, come...come on,” Luke said, but he looked as though he was barely holding back a laugh. “He didn’t mean anything--”

“Oh, no, it’s completely my fault.” D’van stepped forward. “My apologies; you stand like a soldier anyway, and I should have noticed. It’s just that…” He grinned sideways at Han. “I see Solo with a woman, and with his reputation, I can’t help but assume!”

Leia still wasn’t smiling. 

“So, yeah,” Han said, trying desperately to break the tension. “This is Leia.”

“Leia,” D’van said. “Leia...you have a family name?”

“I...I do.” Seeming to cool, Leia glanced at Luke. “Lars. We’re twins.”

_ Yeah, right. Like D’van’s gonna believe a starry-eyed kid and a spitfire share the same genes.  _

But D’van didn’t seem to question it. “Twins! You might’ve mentioned that, Han.”

“I...thought I’d surprise you,” Han said, forcing a grin. 

“Just like always,” D’van said with a laugh. 

_ Well, at least if they’re pretending to be twins there won’t be any danger of her kissing him, and then I can-- _

His thought process stopped short. Where the hell had that come from?

“Now,” said D’van. “What are you doing on Ord Mantell? Anything I can help you with?”

At last, business. Han grinned; this time it was natural. “Glad to hear you ask. You remember the  _ Falcon?” _

D’van whistled. “You mean she still flies?” 

“Barely,” Han said. “We need a new linear converter, at least--anything else?”

“The hyperdrive hasn’t been kicking in as quickly,” Luke chimed in. “You said so yourself last week.”

“Right. But the converter’s the real problem here. Think you could get us a new one?”

“Sure thing. I’ve got a whole store of ‘em in a warehouse a couple of blocks down--they might be a little old, but they’ll run for you.” D’van frowned. “Though I do have to mention, for three years you’ve owed me--”

“Han,” Leia cut in. “Really? Are we ever going to run into  _ one person  _ who you don’t owe money?”

“Well, I--” Han didn’t even know what to say. He could’ve sworn… “I didn’t--I mean--”

They were interrupted by the explosive sound of D’van’s laughter. 

“I got you!” he crowed. “Really, Han, you’ve got to stop jumping to conclusions.”

“Oh, come on,” Han said with a grin. “I knew you were joking.”

“No, you didn’t,” Luke and Leia said at the same time. 

D’van cast them a quick look and chuckled. “They really are twins, eh, Solo?”

“Uh, yeah,” Han said. “Sure.” He threw an arm around D’van. “Let’s check out that warehouse, huh?”

“Sure thing--I’ll have to take you the back way, though. Things can get pretty shifty around here...especially if you’ve got a bounty on your head larger than the amount of snow Hoth gets in a year.”

Han noticed Luke shifting uncomfortably; something strange twinged in his chest and he felt himself pulling a little closer to the kid. Just had to keep an eye on him, he told himself, that was all…

The sooner they got off this blasted planet, the better. 

  
  


Why did it have to be him? Why couldn’t Grundi have made the call? 

It was too late to back out now. Skorr was currently standing on a holopad, placing an extremely important call. Maybe...maybe if he said the transmission was shorting out, and bully Grundi into doing it…

Even as he had the thought, a hologram flickered. 

Slowly, very, very slowly, Skorr raised his head.. It was only a hologram, nowhere near the real thing; but the black form of Darth Vader was still terrifying, still threatened to suck the air out of his lungs.

“Skorr.” It was only one word, only his name, but the voice that delivered it was dripping with menace, cold-blooded indifference, and seemed to echo throughout the small ship. “You had better have a good reason for interrupting.”

Vader hadn’t said  _ what  _ Skorr was interrupting. It didn’t matter. No one interrupted Darth Vader for just any reason; and with that realization, Skorr found himself hoping that the man--or whatever he was--was seriously invested with the pursuit of Skywalker. If not...

“I’ve found Captain Solo, my lord,” he said. “H e’s on Ord Mantell. And--”

“Anything else?”

A threat. Skorr swallowed, but did not flinch; even he wouldn’t have done that. 

“Y-yes. Yes, my lord. The Princess is with him, as well as Luke Skywalker.”

Silence. _Dead_ silence.   


Skorr felt his heart race faster. He was one of a few bounty hunters who knew that Vader had a separate bounty on Skywalker; but whether he was serious about it no one could guess. He could certainly rationalize Vader hunting someone down for the sheer purpose of terrifying him...

“Excellent work,” came the rumbling baritone at last. Relief swept through Skorr; Vader was serious, all right. “Do what you wish with Solo. Subdue Skywalker and the Princess, and wait there for me. Inform me when you have captured them.”

“Yes, my lord,” said Skorr, hating the deference in his own voice; he wasn’t made to submit to anyone, least of all the Empire...but if it got him two billion credits, it was worth it. “It will be done.”

Relieved beyond belief, he moved to cut the call. 

“Oh, and bounty hunter,” Vader said, and Skorr froze. “I will warn you to keep Skywalker subdued, and  _ alive,  _ at  _ any  _ cost. If he were to die, the consequences would be…” A chill seemed to run through the ship. “ _ Severe.” _

A moment later, the fearsome hologram vanished. 

“Grundi,” Skorr muttered, once his heart had started beating again, “If you’re planning on bringing that kid in as dead as your usual targets, I’m going to kill you.”


	3. Chapter Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which things go from 0 to 100 real fast

Leia hadn’t felt spectacular about Ord Mantell from the second they’d crashed, and the feeling had only gotten worse. Now they were in the back of a dark, drafty warehouse, led by a scoundrel friend of Han’s who appeared _much_ too friendly for his own good. The worst part about it was that neither Han nor Luke appeared suspicious at all. Han she could see--he’d barely improved since Yavin--but Luke, naive as he was, could usually tell when someone was...off. Most of the time, he was right. 

And yet, so far, he hadn’t said a thing. Just talked to D’van eagerly about ship parts and space travel until Leia wanted to tell him to shut up. 

She knew something was going to happen; at least, she _thought_ so. She couldn’t have explained it, but there was this tightness in her chest, an inexplicable sense of _wrongness._ But, unlike Luke, she didn’t have the Force, so she couldn’t explain it with that. Maybe she was judging D’van harshly, but she’d been fighting the Empire for years. At some point she’d known how to sniff out people who meant no good, and she was getting the same sense from this _friend_ of Han’s. 

But there was nothing she could do about it. 

The warehouse was old and dilapidated. There was mold on the floor, several shingles of the wall were missing, letting sunlight in through the cracks, and a mild stench seemed to pervade everything; even Luke seemed disgusted, wrinkling up his nose as they passed through rooms. 

“Solo and I had some crazy adventures back in the day,” D’van was saying as he rifled through piles of machinery looking for the linear converter. “Neither of us was particularly smart about anything back then, but your friend here could get us out of any number of situations...even if the odds were completely against him.”

“Oh, come on,” Han said with a laugh. “It was more luck than anything.”

“Don’t sell yourself short, Solo.” D’van turned to Luke; he seemed to have given up talking to Leia, which she was grateful for. “I remember one time a Stormtrooper followed us onto a transport--Han Solo here stole one of the officers’ uniforms, threw the Stormtrooper out the viewport, and passed it off by telling everyone the poor bastard hadn’t had a passport!” D’van chuckled. “Genius.”

Luke looked at Han wide-eyed for a split second, and then he burst out laughing. “Really?”

“No, see, I didn’t _plan_ it,” Han said. “It came from deep in my subconscious, because what I really wanted out of life was to throw a Stormtrooper into deep space.”

Leia had to admit that that was actually funny. She smiled. 

D’van noticed. 

“Well, looks like I finally cracked the tough nut,” he said with a grin. 

“Don’t get too excited,” Leia shot back, but more out of habit than anything. “You still haven’t gotten us that linear converter.”

“Yeah, it should be here somewhere…ah!” D’van pulled a piece of machinery out of a pile on a table. “Here you go. It should work and everything.”

“Great!” Han examined it, passing it over to Luke so he could look at it for a few seconds. “Yeah, this is great. This should work fine.”

“Now, do you want that hyperdrive motivator? I’ve still got some of those--”

“No, I’ll have to get it another time.” Han cut him off. “Thanks for the offer, though.”

“Are you sure? I’m sure I’ve got a few here.”

“No, we’re fine.”

Leia raised her eyebrows. That was debatable. 

Han seemed to understand that as well, because he quickly amended his position. “Well, not fine, but we can survive without one for now. I really just want to get out of this place, D’van. It’s not really…” He sighed. 

_Don’t say it,_ Leia pleaded silently. _I know you love to brag about it, but--_

“I’ve got a huge bounty on my head,” Han said, and Leia wanted to punch him into the wall. “It’s not really safe for me to be around this place for very long.” 

Luke frowned, looking around the warehouse...as if he sensed something. Slowly, he looked back at Leia. 

He felt something. 

_That idiot,_ Leia seethed silently. _If D’van truly doesn’t mean well, we’re all in hot water._

“Well, I think it’s time to get going,” Han said. “Before anyone finds us.”

“Sure thing, Han. Just a minute.” Slowly, Luke pulled out his comm. “Hey, Chewie, you there?”

Leia knew what he was doing. Just in case something went wrong, Luke was going to make sure Chewbacca was at least on his way to collect the linear converter...and to help them get out of a scrape, if need be. 

There was a roar on the other end. 

“Good. Meet us in the city; we’ve got the converter.”

A second roar; that made Leia feel slightly better. Luke hung up. 

“All right,” he said. “Now I’m ready.”

“Just a minute,” said D’van. “You know a lot about mechanics, don’t you, kid?”

“Uh...sure,” Luke said uncertainly. “But I really don’t think we should…”

“Oh, of course, I don’t want to impose on you or anything. But I’ve got this ship downstairs that’s had a problem for weeks--do you think you could figure it out?”

 _No,_ Leia begged him silently. _Say no…_

“Five minutes,” Luke said. “No more than five minutes.”

“Of course not. I’ve got the tools; you just seem like you…” D’van shrugged. “I don’t know, like you figure things out easily.”

“Sometimes. You could say that.” Luke turned to Leia. “We’ll go in five minutes.”

Leia sighed. “All right, but _please_ be careful.”

“I will.” Luke gave her a smile. “We have to wait for Chewie anyway; might as well spend it doing this.” He followed D’van to a side door. “All right. Where’s this ship?”

  
  


The _Executor_ was the latest pride of the Empire; it didn’t come near the Death Star, but then, nothing ever would. The greatest of the Star Dreadnoughts, it had recently finished construction, been equipped with a crew of thousands, and then gifted to Darth Vader, for use in his conquest of hunting down the Rebels’ new base. Among its impressive specifications were a Class 1 hyperdrive, a hull reinforced by titanium, five thousand turbolasers, and over a thousand ships. It was certainly a force to be reckoned with; upon sight of it, any Rebels would know to flee the area immediately. 

The atmosphere on the bridge was currently more than a little tense, because for the last half hour, Vader himself had stood near the viewport, facing the stars. No one could have guessed what he was thinking; no one _wanted_ to guess what he was thinking. Everyone on the bridge only hoped that soon he would finish whatever he was doing and leave them to their work. 

What the Dark Lord was actually thinking none of the crew would have guessed; fortunately for them, because then they would have been dead men. 

He was thinking of his son. 

Luke was waiting for him, on Ord Mantell; one of the bounty hunters had shown him a holo as proof. He could have made the trip immediately; it was what he would have done twenty-one years ago. He had even ordered that a course be set for the planet, notoriously home to hundreds of low-lifes. But he had learned since then; and several close calls had taught him to be more cautious. Too many times, he had arrived over a planet just minutes after Luke had escaped...or worse, arrived to discover that he had been lied to, and his son had never been there at all. 

As painful as it was to wait, he had to do it. There was no point in wasting fuel just for the sake of strangling two worthless bounty hunters; and if these two were, in fact, better than the others, soon he would have his son with him. 

Then Luke would know everything...and, if the Force was willing, he would join Vader just as he had been meant to. 

  
  


Luke hadn’t imagined there would be a garage in such an ancient building, and it lived up to his expectations. There was water dripping in several corners, mold lining the walls, and a weird, pervasive smell even worse than the one upstairs. 

_You’re just doing this to help someone,_ he told himself nervously. _I’m just fixing someone’s ship…_

Han came behind him, holding his nose. “Whew! What do you keep down here?”

“I used to have people running the place,” D’van said, somewhat sadly. “Then they took off. That’s when I got into smuggling--had to find a new way to make money. I couldn’t keep the place up.” He pulled some kind of tarp off of a large lump, revealing his ship, which was old, peeling in some parts, and gave off a different kind of awful smell. “But this is my baby; I may not fly her around, but if I can fix her, I will.” 

He sounded so depressed, Luke decided the bad feeling he’d had earlier might not have been quite right; he’d been wrong about people before. Anyway, Ben would have told him not to judge someone right away. 

“Don’t worry, I’ll see what I can do.” Luke bent down, sliding under it to get a good look at the machinery. “Well...for an old ship, everything looks all right. Converters run smoothly, the wires are in place...motivator’s an older model, but it’ll do all right for you--I’d get it replaced as soon as you can, though, which shouldn’t be such a problem for you.” He pulled himself further under the ship; here the stench was almost unbearable, but he pulled the top of his tunic over his mouth and found he could handle it. “Coils are fine...what’s this?” 

“What’s what?” D’van’s voice reached him. 

“It’s your intergyrons,” Luke determined. “They’re M-2s, and they’re completely--”

There was a clanging from outside the ship. 

“D’van?” he called. “What’s that?”

“Just a spare part,” D’van said--but somehow, his voice sounded even farther away. “It fell down. Nothing to worry about.”

“All right.” Luke examined the intergyrons further. One of them was definitely frayed, and the other had a blackened burn on one end. “You must’ve been in a crazy situation for these to get this damaged, D’van. There’s no way these are going to survive any repairs; I hope you have some M-5s around, those are the best version you’ll be able to get your hands on.”

Another clang...and this time, there was a grunt. 

“That sounds serious,” Luke said. “D’van, I think--”

“No, no, keep looking!” D’van sounded almost...desperate. “Do you see anything else in there? It can’t just be the intergyrons. If...if you don’t mind? If it’s time to go, I completely understand--”

“No, it’s all right,” Luke said, if only to oblige him...but then there was a tugging in his gut. The bad feeling had returned. Half-heartedly, he continued to examine the ship--

“LUKE!”

“Leia,” he gasped, and sat up; having forgotten the ship, he banged his head into the hull and dropped back to the floor, his head spinning. 

A shot echoed from upstairs. 

That did it. Even as his head spun and ached, Luke pulled himself out from under D’van’s ship, seized hold of its nose, and dragged himself to his feet...just in time to watch Han crumple to the floor. 

"Han!" Panic raced through his veins, panic and fear...and then he heard a second shot upstairs. Leia was still fighting, then. He had a chance to get her out of here….

His eyes fell on D’van, who was standing frozen, his arms in the air. 

“They--they were gonna turn me in,” he stammered. “I’ve got a bounty on my head too, Jabba’s gonna kill me--”

He was begging Luke not to kill him; and for a split second, Luke realized he _wanted_ to. He wanted to ignite his lightsaber and drive it through D'van's heart...but that was exactly what Vader would have done. Ben would have spared the man. 

And so would his father. 

And just like that, the anger faded. 

“I’m not going to kill you,” Luke said, forcing himself not to look at Han, to stay calm...Han could just be unconscious, he reminded himself, and anyway D'van was half a victim in this situation. He was spineless, but he'd been used. "Just do me a favor and stay down here!" 

He knew it would probably give him away to every Imperial on the entire planet, but he drew his lightsaber and ran toward the stairs. Luckily, D’van seemed terrified enough of him that he didn’t stop; he only shrank back as Luke threw the door open and ran upstairs. 

_Please, please,_ he begged the Force as there was a shout and a third shot. _Please let her be okay…_

_Stretch out with your feelings, Luke!_

Seconds from the main floor of the warehouse, Luke stopped short. Ben’s voice, again...it could have just been a memory, but what he’d heard during the battle over the Death Star hadn’t been a memory. Ben was warning him. 

He hovered just behind the second door, deactivated his lightsaber, and closed his eyes. 

At first, he could feel nothing; nothing but an empty black void. Then he heard Leia, clearly--that was her grunting--and suddenly he sensed her, several feet in front of him. There was someone facing _her,_ maybe whoever had gotten Han. Luke couldn’t _see_ them, but he could piece together a mental picture...and if that was correct, then their enemy had his back to Luke. 

He opened his eyes and charged at the door. 

The door flew open; he crashed into the creature standing there--a human--and the two of them went crashing onto the floor. The human struggled under him, but adrenaline was racing in Luke’s veins, and he knew what to do; he drew his blaster--it was already set to stun--and pulled the trigger. 

The human went limp under him. 

Relieved and exhausted, he fell back, stumbling to his feet and facing Leia.

“Wow,” she said. “Wow. Luke, I had no idea you could--”

“Neither did I,” he said, still gasping for breath. “Come on, Han’s down there and I don’t know if he’s alive or dead--”

A funny look passed over Leia’s face; she frowned, beginning to sway on her feet. 

The feeling again, in his gut. What if there had been more than one attacker?

Luke hurried toward her. “Leia, what’s wrong?”

Leia's eyes were wide; she was in pain. Luke could feel it, and as awful as it was, he knew there was nothing he could do to stop it.

“Dart,” she choked out, before her eyes rolled back and she collapsed in Luke’s arms.

“No…” To hold her weight better, Luke slid along the wall to the floor, shaking her gently. “No! Damn it, Leia, wake up!” 

“She can’t hear you.”

Luke looked up. Standing in front of him was a male Rybet. Luke felt like he'd seen him before, but couldn't place the appearance. Frustrated, he racked his brain. Alien species, wearing thick armor...clearly, he'd had a partner, and he seemed to be efficient with toxins...

Bounty hunter. Luke's blood ran cold. But not just any bounty hunter...this one he knew. One of his friends from Tatooine had lost his parents to this creature; apparently they'd told the local authorities a bounty hunter was in the vicinity. The next day, they were found dead at the dinner table.

“Grundi,” Luke said, trying desperately to keep from jumping to his feet and charging him. “That’s who you are, isn’t it?”

“I’m surprised you know who I am,” Grundi said. “Someone with _your_ reputation.”

“I didn’t grow up in the Rebellion, you know,” Luke snapped--he was sick to death of people judging him just by the fact that he’d destroyed the Death Star. “Up until a few years ago, I lived on Tatooine.”

“Well, that explains it.” Grundi took several slow steps forward; he didn’t seem in too much of a hurry. 

Luke put his hand to Leia’s neck, feeling for a pulse; what he found was a tiny, thin dart embedded in her skin. Quickly, he pulled it out, throwing it away in disgust. Poison. 

“She's not dead, if you were wondering,” Grundi said. “Neither is your smuggler friend.”

Minute relief swept through him; he could still save his friends. As Luke's gaze swept over the bounty hunter, he noticed a dart gun at his waist.

“Don’t bother,” he said, his voice shaking with fury. He stood up; his lightsaber was several feet away. He’d have to move quickly. “I’ll be able to deflect every one you shoot at me. All you'll do is waste two dozen darts.”

“Oh, don’t worry.” Grundi drew the weapon and dropped it to the floor. “I have a different plan for you.”

“You mean, you want to kill me.” Luke edged slowly across the floor toward his lightsaber. “That might prove a little harder than you think, bounty hunter.”

“If it were up to me, you’d already be dead, Skywalker.”

He'd already be dead? Who was Grundi working for, exactly? Luke knew there were bounties on his head...but he couldn't figure out which one.

Trying to ignore the bounty hunter, he edged closer to his lightsaber.

 _Keep him talking._ _Don’t think about what he’s saying, why doesn’t he want to kill you, who’s he working for...no. Just get the lightsaber…_

“That’s what a lot of people say,” Luke said, keeping his eyes on Grundi for another second. “I think they just don’t want to fight a Jedi. What’s your excuse?”

As he was talking, he bent down, taking his eyes off Grundi for one second.

And in that second, a small object flew through the air and landed in front of him.

A grenade. 

Lightsaber in hand, Luke reached out a hand--before he could use the Force, the grenade exploded. But not in fire.

Instead, waves and waves of gas billowed up into his face. 

Half panicked, half driven by the Force, Luke threw himself backward, leaping to his feet; but it was too late. Almost immediately, there was a burning sensation in his chest, and he hacked and coughed, stumbling into a corner; somehow, he managed to keep himself upright, but then the burning invaded his face, his arms, his legs...it was everywhere. He slid further along the wall, barely managing to keep himself upright.

_Keep fighting...you've got to save Han and Leia..._

Through eyes half blurred with tears, Luke glared at Grundi, who was just _standing_ there. Like he was proud of himself.

“You…” He tried to speak. “You piece of…”

Whatever gas he’d been hit with had invaded his digestive system; he turned sideways and vomited. 

When his vision cleared, at least partly, Luke noticed Leia, lying in a crumpled heap on the floor.

_Get up, Skywalker!_

Determined, Luke dragged himself back up, staggered several steps forward, trying beyond all reason to get back to Leia--he could barely think--his head was burning, aching--a shudder ran through his body, and the floor tilted sideways. 

The next thing he knew, he was lying on the floor. 

Footsteps reverberated, and then Grundi was approaching him. The bounty hunter gazed down with a cruel smile, as if it made him _happy,_ seeing Luke like that. 

“I really do wish I could kill you,” he said. “It’d be too much fun. But unfortunately for me--and maybe for you, too--my employer wants you alive.”

Maybe for you. Luke only stared at him for several seconds, his consciousness already beginning to fade...and then he realized who Grundi meant. Vader. Darth Vader was coming for him.

Luke stared up at the bounty hunter, frozen in horror...and then, mercifully, the gas completely overwhelmed him, and he fell into darkness. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kudos to those of you who got the Indiana Jones reference ;)


	4. Chapter Four

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luke, Leia, and Han try to find a way to escape. Vader closes in.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soooo, this got way longer than I thought, but I didn't really want to split it up...you'll see why. This also isn't the end. I thought it was going to be, but then I decided it needed an epilogue, so that was that.  
> P.S. For the purposes of this chapter, I'm completely ignoring the Cymoon arc in the Marvel comics.

It was time. 

Skorr and Grundi had found an old watchtower outside the city and taken refuge there with their prisoners. After securing Skywalker and the Princess, and with Solo set for his journey to Tatooine, they were ready to inform Darth Vader and collect the bounty. 

“The channel’s secure,” Skorr informed him. “I’m going to watch over the two brats, make sure they don’t disappear.”

“How are they going to escape?” Grundi demanded. “We’ve prepared for every situation. I know every single one of them is a wanted criminal, but we’ve got it all taken care of. At least, I did.” He grinned. “You couldn’t even take on Skywalker alone, couldn’t you?”

“In case you’ve forgotten, I took care of Solo,” Skorr snapped. “And I was distracted with the Princess! I almost had her--Skywalker just surprised me, that’s all. Besides, he’ll be regretting that the second he wakes up.”

“Good,” Grundi said with a self-satisfied smile. “Then you can stay here.”

Skorr seemed to realize his partner was right. 

“Besides, I know why you want to hike off. You’re afraid of Vader, aren’t you? You don’t even want to face him in holo form.”

“You’re way off base, Grundi,” Skorr snarled. “You think I’m afraid of anything? I’ve taken on Deathtroopers and the best of the Rebel Alliance--I’ve gutted people for sport, you think I’m afraid of _Vader?”_

“Then prove me wrong,” Grundi said. “Stand here, with me, and just tell him we’ve got his quarry. Simple as that.”

Skorr crossed his arms. “All right. I’ll prove you wrong.” 

  
  


The first thing Han Solo was aware of was that his head was killing him. 

_Damn. Those Trandoshans really walloped the_ Falcon, _didn’t they? I feel like I’ve been drinking Corellian brandy all night--_

Well. He didn’t need to move yet; Chewie would get them out of here. For the moment, Han was content to lay still, wanting only to go back to sleep; but now that he was awake, he knew he’d have to move at some point, get some caf to wake himself up. 

He was cold, anyway. 

With a long groan, Han started to stretch...except his arms didn’t want to move. 

_Damn Chewie._ He really must’ve wanted Han to rest, wrapped blankets around him the way he did when he decided Han had had enough action. 

“Come on, Chewie,” he mumbled. “Get me out of here.” 

Chewie didn’t answer. Annoyed, Han opened his eyes--

Durasteel. 

Why was he on the floor? 

The _Falcon_ didn’t look like that. Han’s eyes slid closed again...

_Say farewell to freedom, Solo._

And just like that, everything came flying back--the fight with the bounty hunter, throwing the man all over and being slammed into walls--being determined to kill him and D’van before they could get to Luke--watching in horror as Luke got up--a piece of metal striking him, hard, in the back of the head--

Han’s eyes flew open. 

He was alone in a small cell; Luke and Leia were nowhere to be seen. Once again, he couldn’t move; but now he knew why. There were stun cuffs around his wrists and his ankles--and to make things worse, there was half a foot of water underneath him. He knew what that meant: if he struggled at all, the stun cuffs would shock him, and with that water beneath him, it would at least incapacitate him, if not kill him. 

The solution was obvious: he had to get out of the cell to find out what had happened to Luke and Leia; and he couldn’t trigger the mechanism that would give him a shock. So, somehow, he had to get out of the cell without putting pressure on the inner rim of the cuffs; in other words, the part touching him. 

Leia would tell him it was impossible. But he’d done more impossible things before. 

He’d gotten them into this mess, so he had to get them out.

He just had to think of a way to do it. 

Han didn’t like waiting around; he wanted to move, immediately, and get the hell off this stupid planet. But for once, it looked like he’d have to wait. 

He closed his eyes and listened. 

“...the Princess is here, too, but remember the important thing is Skywalker, alive. Otherwise we’re dead meat.” 

Han struggled to place the voice. He’d heard that voice before....

“Obviously. All right, enter the frequency.”

Skorr and Grundi. Of course--it had been a short fight, but it must have been Skorr who knocked him out...and now they had Luke and Leia as well. 

And Han had a pretty good guess who the bounty hunter scum was going to hand them over to. 

That would’ve made him angrier than he already was, except that he had just figured out a very interesting fact. 

Both Skorr and Grundi were upstairs. 

  
  


“Bounty hunters.” Vader spoke almost delicately, but both bounty hunters could sense the underlying tension. “I hope you have good news.”

Grundi knew he should have been terrified of Vader, but seeing the Dark Lord only reminded him of the knowledge that he was about to get paid a billion credits. (It would be two billion, but he supposed he couldn’t forget his less efficient partner in crime.)

“Yes, Lord Vader,” he said. “We have Skywalker and the Princess, alive. They are currently subdued.”

“Excellent. Keep them that way at _any_ cost. I am already near the system; we will arrive within the hour. If they are there when I arrive and you do as I ask, you will receive the bounty as promised. If not...” Vader seemed to wait for several moments before delivering his final ultimatum. “I believe you know what kind of reward is waiting for you.”

Without waiting for them to respond, the hologram winked out. 

Grundi could almost _feel_ Skorr’s fear beside him. This was idiotic; of course they wouldn’t fail. And if they did, he very much doubted the Force was real. He was sure that Vader had tricks that allowed him to murder whoever he wished; he was some kind of cyborg, after all, not much removed from a droid. But the Force was nonexistent; that Skywalker kid had had a lightsaber, but he’d never used it, and he hadn’t even been able to stop a simple grenade, which Jedi had been rumored to have done. 

No, if Vader decided to do anything to them, Grundi and Skorr had dozens of gadgets that would do the trick for them. 

“Come on,” Skorr said at last. “Let’s notify Jabba’s agent.”

  
  


The dilemma was obvious: there was a door in front of him, and a vent above him and to his left. But the vent was too small, and the door was locked. He’d have to find a way to pick the lock. 

With his hands chained behind him. Spectacular. 

Han lay in the water, frustrated, and cold beyond belief. There _had_ to be a way. There just had to….

There was something in his pocket, he realized absent-mindedly--the linear converter! Of course! They wouldn’t have thought it was a weapon, or maybe they were just so worried about keeping Luke subdued that they’d completely forgotten him; but in any case, he had the converter, and Han knew those things intimately. He’d had to keep modifying the _Falcon’s_ for years until it had given out yesterday. 

And what he knew was that to fit into the internal wiring, linear converters were equipped with a long, thin adaptor...almost like a pin. 

Exactly the right shape to pick a lock. 

Now he just had to get it out of his pocket. 

No--first he had to stand up. 

Han listened carefully; the dark bastard's voice was rumbling upstairs. He still had time. Turning sideways, he rolled onto his stomach, which unfortunately meant his face was in the water; but he wasn't going to stay there long.

Grundi was speaking now. Less time. 

Slowly, Han dragged his knees forward; only his ankles were bound, so it worked in his favor. Inch by inch, taking care not to aggravate the stun cuffs, he slid his legs forward and under him. Water splashed over his torso, his muscles screamed at him, but eventually, after several painstaking minutes, he was sitting on his knees. 

“Well, that was easy,” he muttered to himself, catching his breath--now it was time for the harder part. He had to stand up. 

Currently, he was sitting--or, rather, kneeling--in the center of the cell. He had to get to one of the walls. The door was on the right side, so he slid himself slowly to the right, until his back was touching the wall. 

Han listened again, just for good measure; silence. 

That wasn’t good. 

Moving faster, he raised his bound arms behind him, pressed them against the wall, and pushed himself up, squeezing his wrists tight to--

Han was almost standing when a sharp pain lanced through his arms; his entire body shook, and with a shock he realized he’d triggered the cuffs’ mechanism. He stumbled forward, almost toppling back into the water, managed to tip himself back just in time, and landed half sitting against the wall. 

“Okay,” he said after he’d started breathing again. “Okay, Solo. A little slower next time.”

  
  


The world was moving in slow motion. 

Ever so slowly, consciousness filtered back to Luke; it seemed to be taking longer than usual. He could tell he was lying down somewhere, on the floor; but for some reason, he could barely even feel _that,_ and his eyes kept refusing to open. 

He was so tired. Why was he so tired?

“Don’t touch him!”

 _Leia,_ his brain dimly registered. _Leia’s calling my name…._

“Not feeling too good now, Skywalker, are you?”

_My employer wants you alive._

“No!” Suddenly Luke remembered; he remembered everything, and his eyes flew open. Almost immediately, they wanted to blink closed again; he had no idea why he felt so weak, but through sheer force of will, he forced his eyes to stay open and take stock of his surroundings.

He was lying on a hard durasteel floor; he couldn’t feel his arms and legs, and worst of all he felt unbelievably sick; there was a burning sensation throughout his muscles, he was cold all over, and he felt...he felt half-paralyzed. His eyes were open, but barely; and he couldn’t have moved if he tried. 

And standing over him was Skorr, Grundi’s partner in crime. 

“Luke!” He couldn’t move his body, so he turned his head to see Leia with her wrists in a pair of stun cuffs, which were chained to a stake. 

“Leia…” Luke breathed. He could barely even talk. “What did you…”

“Oh, her? Just standard treatment; stun cuffs. If she tries to move, she’ll be given a very strong electric shock.” Skorr grinned maliciously. “But you...we didn’t trust you not to escape. You’re a Jedi...half of one, at least.”

If Luke had been standing, he would have lunged at Skorr. 

“What…” Outside of his own control, his body shuddered. “What did you…”

“A mild toxin,” Skorr explained. “One of Grundi’s...he’s excellent with them. This one in particular is the quell toxin. Heard of it?”

Luke went cold. Of course he had. 

“Oh, but of course you can’t talk right now, so I’ll explain to the pretty Princess over there. It’s developed from something used by slavers to make their slaves docile and obedient...we just used a more _concentrated_ dose for you, to keep you practically immobile.” Skorr’s fist drew back; before Luke could prepare himself, the bounty hunter’s fist slammed into his cheek. His face exploded in pain; dimly, he heard Leia cry out behind him. 

“So I can do that to you, and I won’t even thrown into the air, or whatever it is you Jedi do.” Skorr gestured to his left; blinking through the black spots that had appeared in his vision, Luke noticed what the bounty hunter was pointing at: his lightsaber. “There’s no point in throwing it away, is there? You can’t reach it.”

“Oh, just go to hell,” Leia snarled. 

“I’ll happily do that, just for you.” Skorr made a mock bow in her direction. “But before that, I have to collect my _bounty._ And it’s on its way.”

Luke went even colder. No--they’d already told him! He would be on his way…

“Enjoy your last half an hour of freedom,” Skorr called over his shoulder. “Hopefully your cells will be close...then you can have the privilege of listening to each other scream.”

Before either Luke or Leia could respond, the door closed, and they were alone.

Once Skorr was gone, Luke had to know...it took an enormous effort, but he lifted his head an inch off the ground to look around. Han was nowhere in sight. Dismayed, and exhausted, he let his head drop back to the floor. 

“Don’t do that,” Leia said sharply, but Luke figured it was more out of fear than anything else. “You’ll wear yourself out.”

Luke ignored her. “Where’s Han?”

“I…” An expression of grief passed quickly over Leia’s face. “I don’t know. The two of us are…” Her voice shook. “We’re being handed over to Vader.”

“I know,” Luke said, wishing he was strong enough to sound angry. “I...wish it was just me. He’s…” Luke shuddered. “What if he...tortures you again?”

“I don’t think he will,” Leia said in a low voice. “He didn’t know about you then...he does now. He knows you destroyed the Death Star...and he’s angry. If anyone’s in danger, it’s you.”

Luke knew that, all right. He’d done all he could to avoid Vader, to get out of whatever system the man happened to be in...but whenever the two had crossed paths, he’d gotten this vague sense of the Dark Lord’s emotions; if they could be called that. 

He had felt nothing but dark fury.

He knew what would happen when he was handed over to Vader. He would be tortured constantly, his mind and body ripped apart, maybe driven to insanity...and then, once Vader was done with him, he would be executed in front of the entire Empire. Probably by the lightsaber that had killed his father. 

But even as he had the thought, even as he lay on the floor shuddering and trying not to be sick, Luke felt a fierce determination to escape. He’d had closer calls than this before, and he’d still escaped his father’s murderer. 

“Leia, don’t…” Exhaustion threatened to seize him again, and Luke forced his eyes back open. “Don’t...give in.”

“I’m not,” she said. “Just don’t--”

“We’ll...get out,” he said. “I...I don’t know how, but…I promise you…” Unable to control himself any longer, he let his eyes slide closed. “We’ll escape.”

Leia grinned. “Now, that’s the Luke I know.”

  
  


After three attempts, Han had at last made it to the door. 

Once he’d fallen back down and another time he’d been shocked again, and his muscles hadn’t quite stopped shaking yet; but he was standing with his back to the door, his fingers touching the pad on the door where he was going to fit the converter. 

Now he had to get it out of his pocket. 

_Gentle, gentle,_ he told himself as he twisted and turned, trying in vain to get the converter out of his pocket; but he couldn’t quite do it. His fingers grappled, seizing the edges of his pocket once...but he couldn’t manage it. If he reached any further, the stupid cuffs would shock him again. 

Unless...he didn’t have to reach into his pocket at all. 

It was open, he realized, the converter just sitting in there...if he were hit with enough force, the thing might fall out all on its own. 

That meant he had only one solution. But it was going to be painful. 

Han slid himself away from the door, all the way to the other end of the room, took a deep breath, and threw himself down on the floor. 

Thankfully, he was out of the water. So when the electric shock came, it was just that. 

Groaning, his head feeling like it was going to split open, Han looked down. No converter. He could still feel it in his pocket. 

_Oh, seven hells._ He rolled to his right, all the way back onto his stomach, and then again...something moved in his pocket. It was coming. With a last push, he dragged himself over to the wall and slid himself back up to his feet. 

As he did so, the linear converter fell out and landed in front of him. 

Han grinned. Now things were moving. 

Carefully, he lowered himself, which was difficult to do with his ankles bound, but he managed it. Then he inched himself forward, turned slowly around, and moved his hands backward…

Cold metal. That was it. 

Gripping the converter between his fingers, he slid back up--he wobbled, and almost fell again--until he’d reached the door. This would be tricky, but at least now he had his tool. Han slid along the wall, dragging his feet along, until he was standing with his back to the door. 

“...go check on Solo.”

Han froze. That was Skorr’s voice, up above; he had maybe a minute. At most. 

He could lie back down, he guessed, try to hide the converter...but he’d come too far now. Luke and Leia would be out of time soon, and he _had_ to get out. 

Han slid his hands along the door frame, feeling for the slot where the key card would go; it would be tricky, the pin on the converter was both long and thin enough to do the trick. He’d picked locks before; this one would just be...trickier than most. 

“I guess. Then I’ve got to go back to the two upstairs; can’t risk them getting away. I’ll be back in a minute.”

There! A thin slot, just enough...Han slid the converter toward it. He knew where the pin was--he was holding it the right way--he just had to--

That was it. He felt it slide in...carefully, he found the mechanism inside the lock. It was up once, then two down and to the right, and…

_Click!_

The door snapped open, and Han fell onto the floor. 

And behind him came several heavy footsteps. Han’s heart dropped--he hadn’t been fast enough. 

“All right,” he said, trying to stall for time, “now...now, I know what this looks like--”

A Wookiee rumble interrupted him. _Shut up and let me help you!_

“Chewie!” Han gasped, relieved beyond all belief. “Chewie, you crazy bastard, help me out of these.”

Chewbacca didn’t reply. Instead he yanked the cuffs off Han’s ankles, first, with his massive strength; and then the wrists. Han was finally able to sit up, and the first thing he did was rub his head. 

Then he remembered the converter. 

“Wait there,” he said, running back to the cell and pulling the tool out of the lock. Immediately, the door snapped closed. “Here. Take this back to the _Falcon,_ as fast as you can. Get her fixed up, and come back here.”

Chewie made a rumble of protest. _What about you?_

Han clenched his fists. “Vader’s coming for the kid and Princess Leia. I have to get them out of here.” Behind him, he could hear Skorr making his way down the stairs. “They’ll know I’ve escaped. Let’s go!”

  
  


Ten minutes. Vader had been keeping track of time ever since the _Executor_ had made the jump into hyperspace, and with every second, the wait became more and more excruciating. The bounty hunters had his son, and they had him subdued; both of those were good. 

But Organa and Solo were also in the equation; and he knew from experience that when the three of them were together, he stood much less of a chance of capturing Luke. He didn’t know what it was about them, but they had a _bond,_ and it _infuriated_ him. If he could ever separate Luke from his friends, he would be able to use them to lure his elusive son to him; but he knew, instinctively, that none of them would ever turn against each other. 

So said his spies. _It’s always the three of them,_ the reports came back, _They always help each other. Solo is always on the verge of taking off, but he always comes back; Organa is constantly running short on patience, but always calms herself, especially for Skywalker; and Skywalker himself is becoming more and more wary of the Empire, but always helps his friends._

It wasn’t good for him, or what would become of them when Vader got his hands on Luke; to turn him effectively, Vader would have to make Luke loyal to him alone. 

But if he captured Organa in addition to his son, if he had a leveraging point...that meant that he was beginning with an advantage. And soon enough, if he pressed that advantage, his son would be his, in both body and spirit. 

The hypnotic blue of hyperspace whirled by. 

Seven minutes. 

  
  


Skorr approached the cell, whistling to himself. Skywalker and Organa had been miserable; the boy, especially, seemed to have resigned himself to his fate. Good. If his spirit was already broken before they handed him over, that was glorious payment for Skorr’s defeat at his hands earlier. 

What would Solo think? Skorr hadn’t seen him since they’d locked him up; most likely, he’d be awake by now, and completely unaware of what was going on. He wouldn’t know where his friends were, what had happened to them. He was a cocky fellow, but if he were to be told that his friends were being handed over to Darth Vader? 

Or worse...what if he were told that his friends were dead? 

That would keep him from escaping. He’d have no reason to. 

Grinning to himself, Skorr swiped his key card--

There was no noise, which he thought was odd; usually it would click. Oh, well, maybe the doors needed repairing. Not that Skorr would ever be around to find out…

Then the door swung open. 

Solo was gone. 

Skorr stared for several seconds, shocked beyond belief. For a moment, he gripped the doorframe, unable to believe his eyes. 

Then he whirled around, roaring at the top of his lungs. “SOLO!”

  
  


“All we need is that lightsaber of yours,” Leia said. “It’s so awful that it’s right _there,_ where we can both see it but can’t reach it...those creatures did that on purpose, to torture us. I just know it. If I could get myself out, I could grab it for you...but that won’t happen. I don’t have anything I could use to help me.”

“It’s all right,” Luke murmured. It was almost as though he was getting _weaker_ by the minute; but he wasn’t going to let himself pass out again. He needed to be present for every minute of the process. 

Whatever it took, he was not going to become a prisoner of the Empire. 

“But it’s not,” Leia said. “I can’t think of anything else, I have no idea what happened to Han either--”

Before she could finish, the door opened; judging by the heavy footsteps, Skorr was approaching. Luke braced himself for more blows to the face. 

“Skywalker!” Skorr looked furious, Luke realized; his face was red, his hands clenched into fists at his sides, and he was almost running. “Skywalker! If you know so much about the Jedi-- _did you do it?”_

“Do,” Luke echoed, absolutely confused. “Do...what?”

Skorr swung away from him. “Or _you!_ Organa! Somehow, did one of the two of you--”

“Oh, just explain yourself,” Leia snapped. “We can’t answer you if we’ve got no idea what you’re--”

“Solo’s gone!” Skorr snarled. “Solo has vanished from his cell, there’s no trace of what happened...and long ago it was rumored Jedi could open doors with their minds!” 

He drew a vibroblade and approached Luke viciously. 

“I...I didn’t,” Luke stammered. “I have no idea how to…I...I swear!”

Skorr’s hand stopped, the vibroblade inches above Luke’s leg. The bounty hunter glared down at Luke furiously; Luke blinked and shivered, but held Skorr’s gaze.

Finally, he pulled back his arm.

“You’d better be glad Lord Vader wants you alive, boy,” he hissed, and Luke’s stomach roiled. “Otherwise you wouldn’t long for this world...either of you!”

Without another word, Skorr stalked out of the room, slamming the door behind him.

And Han Solo lowered himself from the rafters of the tower. 

Luke’s jaw dropped. Leia stuttered behind him. 

“Get over yourselves,” Han said, coming toward them. “I’m getting you two out of here. Questions later.” 

“Do...do Leia first,” Luke said, before turning sideways to vomit on the floor. 

Han stopped short. “Geez, kid, what the hell happened to you?”

“Quell toxin,” Leia explained. “I guess Skorr was angry Luke knocked him out.”

“Too bad he got me first, I would’ve liked to see that.” Han took a key card from his pocket--he must have stolen it--and slid it through the cuffs on Leia’s ankles. 

“It was spectacular,” Leia said as Han freed her wrists. “He charged right into him, knocked him to the floor, and gave him a stun blast.”

“It was...nothing,” Luke said. His throat felt like fire. 

“Okay, kid, you next.” Luke could feel Han’s hands on his legs as he unlocked the cuffs around Luke’s ankles, but only faintly; it was like there was some sort of veil between him and the rest of the world. “We’ll just have to wait here for a minute--Chewie’s getting the converter into the _Falcon_ before bringing the ship here.”

“Will we...will we have enough time?” Luke wanted to know. “The...the Empire’s going to be here--”

“Have a little faith in Chewie, kid,” Han said, moving on to Luke’s wrists. “He’s faster than you think.”

At last the stun cuffs unlocked, and Luke tested his arms; he could move them a little, and it felt slightly better. “Okay, help me...help me up, Han. I gotta get...my light--”

But even as Han had an arm around Luke’s shoulders, the door flew open; and both Skorr and Grundi entered. All five individuals froze, staring at one another. 

“Solo,” Grundi said as he stepped forward into the room, “I’m impressed. I have to say I underestimated you the first time; you certainly are sneaky.”

“Yeah, I’m full of surprises,” Han said, pulling Luke the rest of the way to his feet. Luke stumbled, having to rely on Han to stand; but he still needed his lightsaber. He wasn’t leaving without it. 

“No wonder you’ve escaped Jabba this long,” Skorr said. “But it’s too late. We’ve just received word the Empire has arrived.”

Panicked, Luke raised his eyes to the sky. Sure enough, a shadow was hovering in the sky; already, ships were beginning to make their way to the planet’s surface. 

Then, he noticed Leia was looking at him; she was waiting. He nodded. 

“Soon your precious friends will be gone, and shortly after we’re taking you to Tatooine…” 

Leia took a small step to her right, then another. 

Grundi smiled. “And then we’ll have our bounty.”

Leia took that opportunity to lunge for the viewport behind them. Faster than they had expected, Skorr whipped out a blaster and fired; Leia dodged just in time, and the shot whizzed past her. Her blaster was behind a pillar; she picked it up and began to shoot back. 

Chaos broke out. 

While Skorr and Leia continued to fire at each other, Han moved toward Luke’s lightsaber; however, he’d barely moved when Luke noticed Grundi remove two familiar objects from his pocket. 

“Toxic grenades!” he shouted, and Han rolled away as one of them exploded near the lightsaber. Luke couldn’t have moved very fast, but he edged away; he was sick enough at the moment without getting hit with another one of those. 

The next one landed next to Leia. 

“Leia, run!” Luke shouted, starting to run toward her; but it was too late. The grenade went off in Leia’s face, causing gas to infect her just the way it had Luke earlier; Luke stopped short, tripped over a rough spot on the floor, and fell--right on top of Grundi. But even through the smoke and with the quell toxin keeping him weak, he managed to roll off the bounty hunter, who appeared at least temporarily stunned. 

“Han!” he said hoarsely. “Get her out of here!”

Han looked desperately between Luke and Leia, and finally seemed to decide on Leia, Lwho was on the floor now, hacking and coughing but still conscious. Skorr fired again, but Han picked up Leia’s blaster, rolled into a crouch, and fired a stun shot at the bounty hunter. 

It caught him in the abdomen, and he fell. 

“I’ll be back in a minute!” Han shouted. Helping Leia to her feet, he turned and ran with her down the corridor in the opposite direction. Soon they were both gone. 

Luke looked around, trying to get a sense of his bearings; his head was spinning, but Grundi was still not moving, and he finally had a chance to escape. He’d need to take his time, though; everything felt slower than usual. He pushed himself onto his elbows and knees...

Suddenly an oppressive presence filled the entire room, hanging over it like a cloud; it was dark, and ominous, and heavy. Luke froze. He had felt this only once before: in his X-Wing over the Death Star, and as it centered fiercely on him, with all the suffocating grip of an altagak. 

It could only mean one thing. Vader was in the watchtower. 

  
  


This was bad.

Her entire body seemed to be falling apart--she could barely stand, let alone walk at the pace Han wanted. But she understood, that for once in his life, he was right; she needed to go faster. They had to get to the _Falcon_ and save Luke. 

“Come on, Leia.” Han was worried, based alone on the fact that he’d called her by her actual name for once. “Not much farther, just--just keep walking--”

“You are _terrible_ at comfort,” she got out before breaking into a cough once again; they rounded a corner too quickly for her. 

“You don’t need to tell _me_ that--”

He’d stopped moving. 

“Han?” Leia attempted to open her eyes; they were blurry all of a sudden, and she was having trouble focusing, but even like this she could make out two dozen white outlines.

Stormtroopers.

Vader had arrived, and he’d brought an entire squadron with him

Beside her, Han muttered an expletive, and despite everything, she drew herself up. Vader wasn’t here...even with her blurry eyesight, she _knew_ he had gone somewhere else, and she could guess what that was. 

He’d gone after Luke. 

“...leave her,” one of the Stormtroopers was saying to Han, “and you’ll be spared. We only want Organa.”

“You can’t kill me. Jabba’s got a claim on me already, I’m supposed to be delivered to him.”

“The Empire doesn’t care for the Hutts. If he is truly angry, he knows he’ll be compensated.” Two dozen blasters clicked as they were raised. “Now, hand her over.”

_They needed her alive._

The thought struck Leia at once, and as Han started to draw his blaster she reached over, grabbed it from him, and started firing at the Stormtroopers. She couldn’t see where in the galaxy she was aiming at; but she could hear herself hitting armor, could hear the cries of Stormtroopers falling down. They couldn’t do anything, they had to have realized, because if she died Lord Vader would have them all killed. 

“Do something!” one of the Stormtroopers shouted. 

“Do what?” another demanded. “We can’t shoot with her firing everywhere!”

Another one was down; a second wounded. Leia took a step, the blaster still raised, and almost pitched forward onto the floor; Han steadied her just in time, and she continued to shoot, almost blindly...and yet, to her shock, she was still hitting Stormtroopers. 

“Leia!” Han’s voice was in her ear. “Leia, hey! Stop! They’re gone!”

It was like her arms had stopped working; the blaster fell out of her hands, and she slumped back. She could feel that she was barely conscious now, but they had to get to the _Falcon._ They had to save Luke. 

“That was…” Han shook his head. “I can’t--how did you--”

“Go,” she croaked. “Get us...out of here. Vader...he’s…”

“I know,” Han said grimly. “Come on.”

  
  


He had only seconds. The dark presence was drawing near; he could feel it almost at the door. As subdued as he was, the moment Vader entered...

 _Focus,_ he told himself, drawing himself back from the edge of panic. _Focus…_

The lightsaber was right in front of him. 

Luke could barely move--this dose of the toxin seemed to make him _weaker_ over time, his entire body was wracked with small tremors--but still he managed to drag himself forward, his fingers almost touching the lightsaber--

Then Grundi’s foot came down right in front of him, kicking the lightsaber to the other side of the room. 

Luke watched it fly, feeling more helpless than he’d ever felt in his life. 

Slowly, he lifted his head to look at Grundi, who had clearly woken up. The bounty hunter stood over him, a triumphant smile on his face. Luke only had the strength to be annoyed at himself. Leia’s blaster was still in the room; why hadn’t he thought to knock Grundi out properly?

“All that effort,” the bounty hunter said, shaking his head, “and you’re right back where you started.” 

Slowly, he drew a third grenade from his pocket. 

Luke stared at in horror, remembering the awful pain and disorientation and helplessness--

“No,” he said desperately. “Not...not again.”

Gripping the floor with both hands, he dragged himself backward; Grundi matched his movement with slow steps toward him until he stopped--the wall was behind him. He was trapped. There was nowhere to go. 

Desperately, he reached for the Force; nothing answered him. 

He really was alone.

  
  


“Chewie!” Han bellowed. Leia was fully unconscious now; he’d slung her over one shoulder half a mile back, and he was only now realizing how many shocks those stun cuffs had given him. They’d arrived back in the field where they’d landed, and the _Falcon_ looked just like it had when they left it. “Chewie, get out here!”

Just then, Chewbacca did appear, bounding down the ramp and taking Leia from him.

“Get that gas out of her system, whatever it takes,” Han barked, sprinting up the ramp. “I really hope you got that converter in there!”

 _Of course I did,_ Chewie shot back. _It was ready for take-off._

“You mean you haven’t even tested it yet?” Han dropped into the pilot’s seat. “I hope it works. For Luke’s sake, I really hope it works!”

  
  
  


“Just give up,” Grundi said, rolling his eyes. “You’re cornered, kid. There’s no way out.”

Luke glared at him for a second before letting his head drop back. He really was exhausted. He’d hoped he could keep fighting, get through it...but Grundi was standing over him with the grenade, and that toxin was keeping him too weak to access the Force. 

And all the while, that awful, overbearing presence drew nearer, closing in around him.

“Sorry about this, but it’s gotta be done,” Grundi said with a shrug. “This one’s gonna put you over the top. You’ll feel awful for days, but...you’ll live.”

_Just long enough for torture._

Was this how his father had died, helpless before his ultimate fate? Maybe. Maybe it was. He could almost picture it, the courageous Anakin Skywalker fighting to the last minute, but ultimately helpless...and Ben had come too late...had only grabbed the lightsaber…

The lightsaber. 

  
  


The Stormtroopers would ensure that Organa came willingly; he didn’t need them with him. He hadn’t _wanted_ them with him, because with all luck, Luke would be unconscious. 

And he wanted the chance to behold his son unwatched. 

Vader could feel him, at the top of the tower; his Force presence was weak and subdued, but it was conscious, and very much alive. Excellent. For once, the bounty hunters seemed to have done exactly what was asked of them. 

Eagerly, Vader threw open the door to the stairs and began to climb upward. 

  
  


His father’s lightsaber. 

Luke looked across the room. There it was on the floor, on the opposite side of the room. So close...and yet so far. 

_For a normal human,_ something whispered in his head. _Not for you. You’re a Jedi._

 _Not yet,_ he thought morosely. _And thanks to this toxin, I can’t even knock that grenade out of Grundi’s hand._

But he could _feel_ Vader coming closer. That was the Force, wasn’t it? 

_A Jedi can feel the Force flowing through him._

_You mean it controls your actions?_

Grundi dropped the grenade. 

_Partially. But it also obeys your commands._

Obeys your commands. 

Luke looked at the lightsaber, even as the grenade began to give off smoke. It was right there, waiting for him. 

His father’s lightsaber. His father had been killed by Vader, helpless and alone...he’d be damned if the same happened to him. The same was _never_ going to happen to him. 

It obeys your commands. 

_I want it,_ he thought. _I want my lightsaber._

Hardly knowing what he was doing, he stretched out his hand. 

_I want my lightsaber._

The veil was still there, stronger than ever; but this time, inexplicably, he could reach _past_ it. And then, just like at Yavin, a powerful feeling of fulfillment exploded into him. 

_I want my lightsaber._

He imagined it flying through the air, the weapon held firmly in his hand…

_I can feel the Force flowing through me._

Grundi gave a shout; Luke opened his eyes in time to see his lightsaber land in his hand. Determination racing through him, he shoved aside all the weakness and cold and sickness and dragged himself to his feet. 

The grenade began to shake. 

Glaring down at it, Luke ignited the lightsaber and sliced through the grenade. 

“No,” Grundi gasped. “No!”

Luke stretched out a hand, clenching his teeth and using every ounce of strength that existed in him. Grundi went flying across the room. 

A second later, the door was thrown open, and Darth Vader entered. 

In horror, Luke turned to look at him. Like a rush of wind, his strength left him; the power of the quell toxin came flowing back, and he gripped onto the wall behind him to steady himself. 

“Well, young Skywalker, we meet at last.” Luke had never heard Vader speak before, not in person; and the thunderous rumble sent a chill through him. It was as if hell had learned to speak. “You are stronger than I presumed.”

Luke stepped back toward the viewport. 

“There is nowhere to go,” Vader said, approaching him slowly. “It is pointless to try to escape--accept it. Your precious friends are already in the custody of the Empire.”

 _No,_ Luke thought desperately--but even as it crossed his mind, he felt instinctively that Leia was near. And if she was…

On a whim, he swung his lightsaber at the viewport, shattering glass. Some of it pierced his skin, but that was of little consequence. 

There was an engine’s roar, and the _Millennium Falcon_ floated up outside. 

Luke was holding onto the wall, swaying; he could barely stand; there were dark spots in his vision; but despite that, despite everything, he grinned. 

“I don’t think so,” he said. 

Vader took a step, reaching out his hand--

He had only one shot. Breaking into a run, Luke gathered all the strength left to him, extinguished his lightsaber and jumped. 

For a second, he felt only air beneath him, he was falling--then with a painful thump, he felt fur. Fur, under him.

Chewie. Chewbacca had caught him. 

“Go,” he shouted over the rush of wind. 

“Chewie!” Han’s voice reached them from the cockpit. “Chewie, you got him?”

“Han!” Luke looked up and almost jumped at the sight of Darth Vader standing there, his cape flowing in the wind. His arm was outstretched, and Luke remembered suddenly that powerful Force users could lift entire ships. “Han! GO!”

Chewie sprinted into the ship, and the second they were inside, the _Falcon_ rocketed forward, almost throwing them to the ground; but nothing impeded their progress. As they took off into the atmosphere, leaving Ord Mantell behind them, Luke at last allowed himself to give in to the exhaustion that had been threatening him for the last hour.

They were safe. 


	5. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vader deals with the bounty hunters in classic Vader fashion; Han, Luke, and Leia have a fluffy conversation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahhhhh I can't believe I finished a fic for once! I hope you all enjoyed it.

When Grundi awoke in the medbay of his own ship, he had a splitting headache. For several seconds, as he sat up, clutching his head with a groan, that was all he could think about. 

Then a shadow fell over him. 

He promptly forgot his headache. 

Desperate to look somewhere else, he cast his gaze around, but that didn’t help. Skorr was already standing, looking just as miserable. Quickly, Grundi scrambled to his feet. 

“The objective was simple,” Darth Vader rumbled, walking slowly around the two bounty hunters; somehow, he was much more terrifying in person. “Capture Luke Skywalker and Leia Organa. Keep them in your custody, alive and subdued, until my arrival.”

Skorr was looking nervously at him; but as awful as the situation was, Grundi knew all hope was not yet lost. He searched quickly in his pocket for the remote--yes, there it was.

“My lord,” Skorr said, his voice shaking just slightly, “we did as you asked. We subdued them, they were alive--”

“Your paltry excuses do not concern me.” Vader cut him off coldly. Now he was standing behind them; both bounty hunters turned around, keeping him in their line of sight. “I demanded two hostages, one of them the destroyer of the Death Star. I did not receive them. For that, there is only retribution.”

“It wasn’t our fault!” Skorr protested. “We believed Skywalker couldn’t fight through the toxin we’d given him--”

“Because you do not believe in the Force,” Vader finished for him. He took a step toward them; Skorr and Grundi took several steps back.

“Well...well, no,” Grundi said. “I’ve never seen it until...until today.”

He still didn’t completely believe it. But he also doubted Vader could actually kill him with it; what Skywalker had done were small things. Calling a weapon into his hand. Throwing Grundi back...ten feet, maybe. At the most. 

“And it wasn’t very impressive,” he added, for good measure. 

Leather creaked as Vader’s hands clenched into fists. He’d said something wrong. 

But _what?_

“Do not underestimate Skywalker,” he said, sounding almost...defensive. “And do not underestimate the Force, either.”

Slowly, menacingly, he reached out a hand--

Desperately, Skorr glanced at Grundi. 

Now. Now was the time. Grundi pressed one of the buttons on the remote; immediately, a blaster hidden in one of the rafters fired at Vader multiple times. 

In a moment, all of them were deflected. 

Grundi couldn’t believe his eyes. It really...it really was true…

And what did that mean for him? 

“This is why you failed, bounty hunter,” Vader said. “You had no faith in the power of the Force. If you had, you would have gone to further lengths to subdue Skywalker. He is stronger than you realize.”

He _was_ defending the boy. Since when did Darth Vader speak so highly of anyone?

“Why?” Grundi demanded. Skorr was shaking his head, but he paid him no attention. “Why do you care about him? Why not tell us to kill him? That we would have delivered on.”

The ship suddenly grew cold. 

Vader took a step closer to them; both bounty hunters looked up in terror. They could sense that some great proclamation was coming, but they would never have guessed--

“Because he is my _son.”_

The words were hissed, as close to a whisper as the Dark Lord could give; even here, stranded on Ord Mantell, he didn’t want anyone to hear the words. This was a great secret, something he was trying to keep from everyone. 

And it made sense, Grundi realized; it made horrible, awful sense. They both used the Force. Vader was hunting Skywalker with determination he had never seen before--of course, it also provided for a severely messed up dynamic, should the kid ever find out...poor kid when that day came. But Grundi hadn’t even known his own father; in this corner of the galaxy, parents and children didn’t have very good relationships. 

So, despite the insanity of it all, it made sense. 

But then...then, why...why would he want them to know?

Skorr actually voiced the question. “Why are you telling us?”

Vader’s helmet tilted down to regard them. Terrible, freezing terror pooled in Grundi’s stomach as he realized…

“Because you will not be alive to tell anyone.”

  
  


“Well, kid, how are you feeling?”

“Good as new,” Luke said, smiling up at Han as he entered the medbay. “It’s a good thing you had the cure for that toxin, or I’d be a real mess.” 

They were almost back at the base; Chewbacca had taken control of the _Falcon_ so that Han could check up on Luke. 

“Where’s Leia?” he asked, trying to peer around Han. “Is she…?”

“I’m perfectly all right,” Leia said, appearing beside Han. “There’s no cure for the gas from those grenades, it just wears off.”

“Well, glad this all turned out fine.” Luke stretched his arms above his head, testing them; a little weakness, but he felt fine. He swung his legs out of bed and put his weight on them--

The next thing he knew, the floor was an inch from his face and Han’s arms were around him.

“Careful, kid,” Han said with a laugh, pulling the embarrassed Luke upright again, keeping an arm slung around his shoulders. “You just took that stuff five hours ago.”

“I know,” Luke said, feeling his cheeks heat up. “I just figured, I have the Force--”

“No, it does not mean you heal faster.” Slowly, Han started to walk him out into the cockpit. “Where’d you hear something like that?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know. Just a guess.”

“Well, you can move now, that’s the good thing,” Leia said. “You’re almost better, I’m fully functional, Han--oh, right, nothing happened to you.”

“I let myself get shocked five times!” Han retorted as Luke and Leia both laughed. 

“It’s just fun to poke holes in your ego,” Leia said with a smile. 

Han rolled his eyes. “Very funny.”

At last they arrived at the cockpit, and Han helped Luke get settled in the co-pilot’s chair. Luke leaned back with a sigh, exhausted but relieved. He still couldn’t believe he’d gotten out of that so narrowly. Another second, and he could have...he’d be…

No. Don’t think about it. 

It seemed like Han was trying not to think about something, too. The former smuggler was leaning against the wall, a far-off look in his eyes. 

“Han,” Luke said gently, and Han blinked. “You’re having an unusual quiet moment. What’s wrong?”

“Just...tired,” he said with a shrug. 

Leia punched him lightly. “Has anyone ever told you what a terrible liar you are?”

“No,” Han said, almost belligerently. 

“You’re a terrible liar.”

“Really, just say it,” Luke said. “We’re your friends, Han, you can tell us--”

“That’s exactly what the problem is,” Han said, cutting him off. “Someone like me, I’m not supposed to have friends. I’ve got too much history, too many enemies...too many bounty hunters searching for me. And to get to me, they’ll--they’ll use you, because that’s not usual for a smuggler.”

Ah. So that’s what it was. 

Luke had guessed at it, but it hadn’t seemed certain until now. But what was clear was that this entire adventure was eating at Han; he thought everything was his fault. 

Gathering all his strength, Luke gripped the chair and stood up. 

“Luke, don’t--” Han started. 

“I’ll be fine,” Luke said, trying desperately to keep his legs from shaking. “But you...listen to me, Han. We’re not angry at you. You came out all this way to rescue _us,_ after all. You didn’t mean to crash on Ord Mantell; and you sure couldn’t have guessed that Norik D’van would turn on you.”

“I did,” Leia said defensively. “I knew the whole--”

Luke shot her a look. 

“Honestly, we had no idea,” she said. 

Han put a hand over his mouth, probably to smother a laugh; but it was no good, because it escaped him anyway, in a loud guffaw. 

“You’re too much,” he said. “Both of you. I should’ve ditched you the first day we met, on the Death Star, you know. No, I shouldn’t have taken on that old man’s proposal in the first place.”

“Too late now,” Luke said, and almost tipped over. 

Han forcibly pushed him back into the seat. Chewie rumbled a laugh. 

“Stop moving around, junior,” he said with a laugh. “Just stay in one place for once instead of trying to kill yourself, will ya?”

Luke grinned. 

“That’s what he’s best at,” Leia said, shaking her head. 

“See, this is what I’m talking about,” Han said, gesturing between the two of them. “I _should_ have left you behind...put myself first, the way I was used to. You know, I still need to do that. The longer I stay with you, the more danger I’m in.”

“But you never will,” Luke said. “Remember when you were ‘just about to leave,’ and then I got knocked unconscious during a training exercise?”

“Or,” Leia chimed in, “when a bounty hunter showed up and you were going to take off in the _Falcon,_ but there was a fire at the base and you just had to run back and see if the two of us weren’t injured?”

Han turned his head away, muttering to himself. 

“None of it was your fault, Han,” Leia said. With a sigh, he turned back to look at them. “And anyway, you got us out, didn’t you?”

Han grinned slyly. “Are you really admitting I did something useful?”

Leia rolled her eyes. “Oh, I want to take it back.”

“Just stop worrying about it, Han,” Luke said, starting to stand back up; this time, both Han and Leia pushed him down. “We’re your friends, and the longer you stay with us, the less you’ll want to leave us. And it’s been two years, which is longer than you’ve stayed with anyone but Chewie, so…” He shrugged. “You’re basically doomed.”

Han ruffled Luke’s hair. “You two are a really bad influence on me, you know that?”

“Oh, we know,” Leia said with a smile. 

“And just like that, we’re here!” Luke pointed out at the white landscape. “Home sweet Hoth. Maybe we can finally trick you into having that snowball fight.”

Han looked between Luke and Leia for a very long moment. 

“Never change,” he said. “Either of you, I don’t care what the consequences are.”

“We won’t, trust me.” Luke smiled. “Just as long as you don’t, either.”


End file.
